Boxing

FOX Sports Exclusive

Blog for UFC 106: Griffin defeats Ortiz

foxsports admin

Updated Jul 1, 2014 5:21 PM ET

Inside Fights' Jeremy Botter was on scene in Las Vegas for UFC 106. Get his take on all the action.

Main card

Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin:Round 1: The Mandalay Bay Events Center is electric here. Ortiz landed a few good punches, but Griffin was able to shake them off. What Griffin could not shake off, however, was Ortiz's first takedown attempt, which looked fluid and easy. Ortiz landed some signature elbows before Griffin could escape. I'm giving the first round to Ortiz, but just barely.

Round 2: Ortiz quickly gets another takedown and lands a couple of elbows. Griffin escapes when Ortiz tries to transition to side control. Griffin lands a big front kick that knocks Ortiz's mouthpiece out. You don't see that very often. The action is stopped and the ref grabs the mouthpiece. Ortiz gets another takedown and lands an elbow that cuts Grtiffin open. He lands unprotected elbows, but Griffin reverses it and moves to the top position! Griffin is bleeding badly as the round ends.
Round 3: Griffin is winning the striking battle. He's landing a ton of unprotected shots, and Ortiz is just absorbing them. Ortiz seemns exhausted and hasn't even tried for a takedown. They exchange punches and an embrace as the round and the fight ends. Winner by split decision: Forrest Griffin

Josh Koscheck vs. Anthony Johnson: On a night filled with illegal strikes to downed opponents, this one takes the cake. Yes, Johnson threw a knee at Koscheck while both of his knees were on the ground. Kosheck sold it like he'd been killed, writhing in agony while holding his head. The instant replay seemed to indicate that Johnson's knee made contact with Koshcheck's arm, but Koscheck held his eye like he'd gotten poked.
The fight went into the second round, where Kosheck poked Johnson in the eye. Twice. Koscheck finally tired of trying to trade punches with the feared striker and took him down. From there, it was elementary, as Koscheck secured a rear naked choke for the victory. Koscheck wins by second-round submission.

Paulo Thiago vs. Jacob Volkmann: Thiago dropped Volkmann three times during this bout, but "Christmas" was able to stick around and make a fight of it in the third round. The third was the only round he won, however, as Thiago earned a unanimous decision in a fight that the usually-educated Mandalay Bay crowd hated. It wasn't the most exciting fight of the night, especially what we've seen on the rest of the card, but it wasn't terrible. Thiago wins by unanimous decision.

Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Pundits said that Little Nog's hands aren't what they used to be. The pundits were wrong. Nogueira rocked the feared Brazilian striker with a strong left hand that sent Cane fleeing across the ring, obviously having second thoughts about trying to strike with Nogueira. Nogueira chased Cane down, knocked him to the canvas with another strong left and then landed two punches before Steve Mazagatti could stop the fight. Nogueira instantly made an impact in the light heavyweight division. He beat one of the top contenders in the division and did it with impact. Nogueira wins by first-round TKO.

Amir Sadollah vs. Phil Baroni: Sadollah and Baroni put on what will almost certainly be the Fight of the Night, an all-out brawl that harkened back to the epic Griffin/Bonnar slugfest that kickstarted the UFC's drive to the immense popularity. Baroni had a very strong first two minutes, but quickly gassed and began taking a beating from the Ultimate Fighter winner. Baroni can take a punch with the best of them, and he continued to do so for the rest of the fight despite barely having enough energy to stand. Sadollah wins by unanimous decision.

Undercard

Ben Saunders vs. Marcus Davis: Saunders has one of the most effective clinch games in the division, and he used it effectively in defeating Davis. Davis has been consumed with his loss to Dan Hardy and may have looked past Saunders to a rematch with the No. 1 welterweight contender. Saunders clinched Davis against the cage and landed two vicious knees to the chin, putting Davis to sleep for the first time in his UFC career. Saunders wins by KO in the first round.

Read more at...

Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt: Rosholt manhandled Grove for almost the entire first round and nearly had an arm triangle submission for the second fight in a row. Out of nowhere, Grove secured a lightning-fast triangle choke and forced the submission. Grove wins by first-round submission.

Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster: This is one bizarre evening thus far. Larson was deducted one point early in the first round for kicking Foster in the face while both were on the ground. Foster appeared badly hurt, but recuperated enough for the fight to continue. Larson then landed two knees to Foster's face while he had three points of contact, which is also illegal. Larson was deducted yet another point, but it didn't figure into the finish of the fight as Foster battered Larson in the second and scored a TKO victory. Foster wins by second-round TKO.

Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes: Camoes looked like a force to be reckoned with early in the fight, but it was a point deduction from an illegal upkick to a downed Uno that ultimately cost him a win. Uno controlled much of the second and third rounds and should have won the fight, but we've seen lately that allowing a fight to go to the judges is risky business. That was certainly the case here, as the judges ruled the fight a draw. Fight ends in a draw.

George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent: Dent was saved by the bell at the end of the first, but wasn't so lucky in the second. Sotiropoulos displayed some excellent jiujitsu prowess, moving from a spider web position into an armbar. Dent fought it, but Sotiropoulos is a jiujitsu master and the ending was inevitable. Sotiropoulos wins by second-round submission.